Why Winter is a Great Time to Install Solar

While temperatures may be dropping, clear skies are a staple of an Australian winter. To find out why this makes Australia's winters a great time to install a solar PV system on your roof, read on.

Great Weather

While for those living in a rainy country like England it can be difficult to install solar in winter, thanks to a high rate of sunny, clear days, this is not the case for most parts of Australia.

Perth 2017:

Month

Hours of Sunlight (Mean)

Number of days with rain above 1mm

Min Temp (Mean)

Max Temp (Mean)

June

7.3

2

7.9°C

21.4°C

July

6.1

20

10.2°C

18.4°C

August

6.2

13

9.4°C

18.7°C

With just 35 out of 92 days recording above 1mm of rain, over 60% of winter days in Perth were clear.

Brisbane 2017:

Month

Hours of Sunlight (Mean)

Number of days with rain above 1mm

Min Temp (Mean)

Max Temp (Mean)

June

7.4

6

12.9°C

22.8°C

July

9.0

5

10.3°C

22.9°C

August

9.7

2

10.9°C

24.7°C

With only 14% of days in winter in Brisbane recording rain over 1mm, winter in Queensland creates the perfect conditions for solar generation.

Sydney 2017:

Month

Hours of Sunlight (Mean)

Number of days with rain above 1mm

Min Temp (Mean)

Max Temp (Mean)

June

5.2

11

10.4°C

18.2°C

July

8.2

2

8.6°C

19.1°C

August

8.8

4

9.5°C

19.5°C

With just 18% of days in winter in Sydney recording rain over 1mm, over 80% of days in the NSW capital were clear.

Contrary to widespread belief, panels do not work better when the weather is extremely warm. In fact, some system’s performance can suffer under extremely hot temperatures (days of 35+ degrees). With an average maximum temperature of 18°C for Perth, 22°C for Brisbane, and 19°C for Sydney, with plenty of days with clear skies, winter is a great season for solar generation and installation.

Beat the Summer Rush and the Winter Chill

Spring and summer are traditionally Infinite Energy’s busiest time of year, meaning installations of solar PV system can take a little longer.

Choosing to install your brand-new system in the winter low season can reduce these wait times, and means you're ready to start saving as soon as spring and summer arrive.

Installing in winter also means you’ll have your solar PV system there to help offset high electricity bills associated with increased heater/air-conditioning usage in winter.

With winter in Australia still producing a high number of sunny, clear days, your system will offset a considerable amount of electricity you would have previously bought from the grid, resulting in substantial savings.

The Bottom Line

While winter may not be as warm as summer or as sunny as spring, the season’s reduced temperatures with many clear sunny days mean your solar PV system will still produce a significant amount of electricity, comparable to what your system would produce in spring/summer.

Plus, due to the phase out of STCs scheduled for January 1 every year, we recommend you install your solar PV system as soon as possible in order to receive the current government incentives and maximise your savings.

To find out how much going solar you could save you on your electricity bills, request a no obligation quote today, or call us on 1300 074 669.